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Jim Thome

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The Cleveland franchise — known as the Blues, Bronchos and Naps before settling on Indians in 1915 — has played 111 seasons. There’s no need to look past Hall of Famers when selecting the names for the Indians Mt. Rushmore.</p>

Major League Baseball is promoting an effort to identify the best four players in each team’s history with their "Franchise Four." We selected our choices for Mt. Rushmores a few years ago. Here are updated versions for all 30 teams. Who are the four baseball players that have risen above all others for each organization? The question sounds simple, right? Not so fast. Let the arguments begin.

It’s been a long time since the Pittsburgh Pirates had a winning season. A well-documented long time. But, last night, the Pirates won their 82nd game of the season, ensuring themselves of a winning season in 2013. A few notable events have happened in baseball since the Bucs were winners.

It’s been a long time since the Pittsburgh Pirates had a winning season. A well-documented long time. My daughter is a junior in college, and the Pirates have not had a season with a winning record in her lifetime.

But, last night, the Pirates won their 82nd game of the season, ensuring themselves of a winning year in 2013.

A few notable events have happened in baseball since the Bucs were winners back in 1992. Here are a few:

<p>
The Cleveland franchise — known as the Blues, Bronchos and Naps before settling on Indians in 1915 — has played 111 seasons. There’s no need to look past Hall of Famers when selecting the names for the Indians Mt. Rushmore.</p>

Major League Baseball is promoting an effort to identify the best four players in each team’s history. We selected our choices for Mt. Rushmores a few years ago. Here are updated versions for all 30 teams. Who are the four baseball players that have risen above all others for each organization? The question sounds simple, right? Not so fast. Let the arguments begin.

When I was a kid in the 1970s, I knew three home run numbers: 755, 714, 660. Those were the totals from Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. I didn’t know who was fourth. I knew fourth place had fewer than 600 home runs. And I thought 600 was almost as magical as 700.